"Last weekend I went to the junkyard and found a complete Ford 8.8 rear end with 4.10s, limited slip, and only 75K miles on it... got it for 82 dollars! "

Awesome deal on that 8.8....

You gonna run 4 disc brakes now or 2 drum?

Great thread, the pictures are outstanding!

I plan on running what I have for the meantime. BTW. This axle was a disscussion from another member on the forum. He scored an excellent deal on this axle.
My primary goal is to get the Jeep to run. Looks to me tha tthe two P.O.s gave up on this project and let some parts "walk off." My wife thought I was crazy taking on a project of this magnatude.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrawlingForward

I assume you're not referring to the 10 year old daughter, ha ha!

Seriously, this is an incredible project and I can't wait to see what you do with it!

No, the daughter in question is fifteen. She has a birthday on early June. She is very excited about driving her Jeep. BUT, the ten YO has hinted at wanting a Jeep as well. Who knows, all the kids will have a Jeep if the trend stays on this path.

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Robert.

Quoted from eflightray on RCGroups.com;
"Make something 'fool-proof', and nature will just produce better fools."

As promised, I did take some time to get at least one seat installed. But it is one of those things, like the saying goes, "take two steps forward, lose a step back." That is the case with this seat.

I merely cut to length some steel strap stock that I had laying around, drilled some holes in the marked locations, and mounted these to the seat brackets.

I had purchased these clips for my Chevy rebuild a couple years ago and decided that they could come into use here.

Here the seat is installed. It looks good, except that the seat cushion sets a little high. If I had a top on I am sure that my head will almost touch it. There is also limited room between the cushion and the steering column.

I have asked my self why I started a build thread for this Jeep. I have had members make statements that this was a good thread to follow. So my answer to my question is this, I probably do this because I probably represent the vast majority of those who perform their own work on a limited budget or time. It is also because there are a lot of people out there who come across these same or similar situations that require creative thinking.
So, to those who have followed along this far, thank you for all your input and contributions. Also, thank you to those who have sold me parts to make this Jeep a step closer to running.

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Robert.

Quoted from eflightray on RCGroups.com;
"Make something 'fool-proof', and nature will just produce better fools."

Looking good thus far. While i'm not rebuilding my jeep your thread has enlightened me on the fact that the heater control panel has a light behind it (mine must be burnt out and i'll have to check when/ if i get out of work.

Keep it up man.

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[SIZE="3"][B]Check the air tires, thats where the power is generated.[/B][/SIZE]

I have found little time to work on the Jeep, but I did manage to mess around some.

***(sorry about the large pics. I forgot to downsize them before I posted them).

I made an attempt to repair the tank, but no matter what I did, nothing worked. I tried PP and PE (polyethylene and polypropylene) approved epoxies, PP and PE super glue, heat and melt method, but they were all unacceptable. I think that the plastic of this tank was beyond repair.
So instead, my wife, the sweetheart that she is, went to a local shop and ordered a new/used tank for me, and it will come with the electric in-tank fuel pump that I have been looking for. The total price; no more than $150.00, shipped! (Lucky her for the score)! My birthday present from my wife.

Since I was frustrated as to how things were turning out, I also removed the seat after more consideration. I will rework the risers and lower the height of the seats.

I located the tap-and-die set and chased the threads the bolt for the grill. I did not want to run into any problems with this part since the receiver nut is "loose" within the grill base.

My grill was missing a rubber bumper on the left side. I found a pickup stake pocket tie down and modified the rubber to match the rubber bumper on the right.

I now have the grill and fenders in place. I am finally making some pogress on this Heep!

Now I can mount the PDC and the front wiring. I can also finish the power steering hoses without worrying about the grill placement. The grill and fender will be replaced in the future, but for the mean time, I will run it like it is.

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Robert.

Quoted from eflightray on RCGroups.com;
"Make something 'fool-proof', and nature will just produce better fools."

(Sorry about the size of the pics, I meant to downsize them before I uploaded them).
It has been a few weeks since I had reported any progress made. In the last couple weeks, I have managed to spend some time on the Jeep. It has been a slow, laborous project, especially with the spaghetti mess of wires that the P.O.S. had left me with. It was a walk in the park to install the gas tank, exhaust system and the missing piece for the steering column. Pics of those soon to come.

The wiring mess. After I had made many attempts to "completing a circuit" just to find that they do not work, I have decided to pull every last wire from the engine side of the bulkhead connector. I had searched for bulkhead wiring diagrams, but I had not much luck in finding any. I did come across a wire schematic specifically for a "93 Cherokee XJ, with these schematics and an'88 YJ bulkhead connector diagram, I managed to locate all but 12 wires, which I am almost sure that they will not be needed. I will verify that this week.

Here is one of the problems that I had to work with. The P.O.S. had cut the connector from the headlight wires, so their locations were unknown.

Luckily Ihad removed the entire wire harness from an '88 XJ, I have recycled so much from that harness, and I am sure I am not finished with it yet. Here is the beginning of the headlight connector rebuild.

I will have pics of the bulkhead connector mess coming soon.

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Robert.

Quoted from eflightray on RCGroups.com;
"Make something 'fool-proof', and nature will just produce better fools."

After spending some more time in the garage last night, this is what was remaining after locating the wires listed on the previous posting.

Here is another view of the wire mess.

Pulling the looms and the wrap off was necessary to aid in locating where the wires lead to.

As of 10:30 p.m. last night, this is what is remaining! The wires have been determined where they go to, I should be able to finish this soon. I will also be eliminating wires that are no longer needed, like A/C, XJ front wiper harness, cruise control, ABS etc.

And now, onto determining where these wires will terminate, some of them will go to the instrument cluster.

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Robert.

Quoted from eflightray on RCGroups.com;
"Make something 'fool-proof', and nature will just produce better fools."

The one on the right is merely a retyped version of a diagram given to me by a couple of jeepforum members. I still have to use the original diagram for reference as to where the pin locations are marked at on the bulkhead connector.

I have been informed that this type of detailed info on any vehicle can be found on alldata.com, but it requires a monthly, or yearly membership at a cost.

Towards the end of this project, I will be posting all my search and swap results to help others who wish to take on a project of this size, or to troubleshoot problems that may occure in the future.

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Robert.

Quoted from eflightray on RCGroups.com;
"Make something 'fool-proof', and nature will just produce better fools."